Roof ventilator



Sept. 30, 1969 P. PAINTER 3,469,519

ROOF VENTILATOR Filed March 26, 1968 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR PHILLIP PAINTER BY I ATTORNEY Sept. 30, 1969 PMNTER 7 3,469,519

ROOF VENT ILATOR Filed March 26, 1968 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR PHILLIP PAINTER ATTOR KEY United States Patent 3,469,519 ROOF VENTILATOR Phillip Painter, Indianapolis, Ind., assignor to Jenn-Air Corporation, Indianapolis, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Continuation-impart of applicaion Ser. No. 690,255, Dec. 13, 1967. This application Mar. 26, 1968, Ser.

Int. Cl. F24f 7/02 US. C]. 98-43 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is an continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 690,255 filed Dec. 13, 196-7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a side view of a ventilator positioned atop a building curb.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the ventilator cover.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of an orifice curb which is an element of the ventilator.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of the orifice curb taken along line 44 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of the ventilator and curb taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is a partial plan view of the subject matter of FIGURE 5 with part of the cover broken away to reveal the fan and drive.

FIGURE 7 is cross-sectional view of one portion of the ventilator taken along line 77 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 8 is an alternative arrangement of the drive for the ventilator shown at a reduced scale.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIGURE 1 of the drawings discloses a ventilator cover 10 which is positioned atop and supported from a curb 12 which frames an opening in a building roof. Cover 10 may be of a plastic material vacuum formed to a concaveconvex shape adapted to overlie the power driven ventilator equipment. Skirt portions 14 on each side flare outwardly and downwardly to define a weather protective portion to protect internal equipment and the building opening from rain and snow. The skirt further defines an exhaust port for passage of air.

Flat footings 16 are provided at each corner of cover 10 between adjacent skirts 14 for the purpose of supporting it atop the building curb. These footings and the skirts terminate in a downwardly extending portion 18 which surrounds the entire peripheral lower surface. The top portion of the cover is provided with a slight pitch toward the skirts.

An orifice curb 20 is disclosed in FIGURE 3 and in a cross-sectional view in FIGURE 4. The curb preferably includes a generally flat portion 22, a down-turned weather protective skirt portion 24 which surrounds the entire curb, and a central portion provided with a conical well Patented Sept. 30, 1969 26. The well terminates at its lower portion in an upwardly directed edge 28 defining an opening or orifice 30. Generally flat portion 22 includes a rain ridge 32 which is located at the entrance to the conical well. Its purpose will be more fully disclosed hereinafter.

In FIGURE 5, a cross-sectional view shows elements of the ventilator in position on a building roof. A generally rectangular opening 36 is provided in a building roof 38 between joist 40. An upstanding building curb 12 surrounds and frames the opening. This curb may be constructed on location or be a pre-fabricated sheet metal type as disclosed in U.S. Patents 3,085,647 and 3,110,357 with or without their acoustical baffies. Roofing material 42 is brought up the sides of the curb and terminated as shown about on a level with the top of the curb. The inside of the pie-fabricated curb is preferably lined with acoustical or insulating material 44. The top of the curb is capped or framed with a wooded securing or nailing strip '46.

Still further in FIGURE 5, orifice curb 20 is supported directly on top of the securing strip. An outer skirt portion 24 of the orifice curb overhangs the top of this curb and roofing material 42. A well or recess 26 at the central portion of the orifice curb receives a portion of a centrifugal-axial fan 48 therein at a location below the top of the building curb. A rain ridge 32 surrounds the recess adjacent the generally fiat portion of the orifice curb for the purpose of preventing water or condensate which may have collected from entering the well and passing through orifice 30 into the building. The lower portion of the well terminates in an upwardly directed edge 28 defining an orifice 30 leading to the inlet of fan 48. The fan is fully described in US. Patent 3,368,744.

Fan 48 is powered from electric motor 50 driving through belt 52 and pulley 54 to shaft 56. The fan and drive mechanism are supported in position by a frame designated generally by the numeral 58. More specifically the frame comprises side bars 60 and 61, from which the fan is mounted through plate 62, and end bars 64 and 66, from which motor 50 is supported. The frame is supported by leg members 68 which are bolted on rain ridge 32 of the orifice curb. Preferably rubber feet 69 are used to lessen transmission of vibration and noise to other parts of the ventilator.

In operation, air is drawn upwardly through orifice 30 into fan 48 and expelled outwardly and upwardly and discharged to the atmosphere through the opening defined between the top of orifice curb 20 and underneath skirt portions 14 of the cover. It will be observed that motor 50 is mounted within the discharge air stream.

Cover 10 and orifice curb 20 are secured in position on top of curb 12. One method is to drill a hole through depending portion 18 adjacent footing 16 and portion 24 of the curb orifice and insert a cap screw into wooden strip 46.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken through one side of the cover and orifice curb. This view provides a clear representation of the weather protective skirt portion 14 with respect to the size of discharge opening defined between the skirt and orifice curb through which air passes.

An alternative form of the ventilator is shown in FIGURE 8 wherein the fan 48 is directly driven from electric motor 50'. The fan and motor are supported by annular wire mesh cage which in turn is mounted through rubber footings on the rain ridge. An additional feature in this arrangement is an annular shield member 70 mounted on the cage support beneath the motor to separate the motor from the exhaust air stream and to direct exhaust air downwardly. Sufiicient air for cooling the motor is permitted to pass through opening 72.

The cover nests at its corners or footings 16 directly on the orifice curb corners thus permitting the area between corners defined by the skirt portion to be exhaust ports.

It Will be appreciated that either of the disclosed arrangements permits a. relatively low overall contour of simple construction which is versatile in application. For example, upon eliminttion of the orifice curb and power driven fan, the cover can be nested directly on top of a building curb to provide an air vent for a building.

While the invention has been disclosed and described in some detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the invention is not so limited, and modifications may readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art and within the broad scope of the invention. I wish to be limited only by the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A low contour ventilating device adapted to overlie and be supported from a raised curb which frames an opening in a building roof comprising:

a unitary orifice member having a generally flat peripheral portion adapted to be supported from the top of the raised curb,

said flat peripheral portion of said unitary orifice member at its outer extremity terminating in a downwardly directed weather protective skirt adapted to overhang the curb,

a fan well centrally disposed in the unitary orifice member substantially below the level of the fiat pe- 4 orifice terminating below and facing upwardly into the inlet of said fan means, said fan and power means therefore being supported on the peripheral portion of the orifice member,

and cover means overlying the orifice member and including flared skirt portions overhanging and terminating below the outer periphery of said orifice member to thereby define a weather-protective cover and further define in cooperation with said orifice curb a downwardly directed air exit means,

said cover means supported in nesting relationship on corner portions of said orifice member and includes downturned peripheral portions extended adjacent the downwardly directed weather protective skirt portion of the orifice member which overhangs the curb.

2. The claimed subject matter of claim 1 wherein the fan is a centrifugal fan.

3. The claimed subject matter of claim 1 wherein the generally flat peripheral portion of the orifice member includes an annular raised portion outwardly of the fan well defining a rain ridge.

4. The claimed subject matter of claim 3 wherein the fan and power means are supported from atop the rain ridge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,980,007 4/1961 Breidert 9843 3,045,579 7/1962 Jenn et al. 9843 3,396,652 8/1968 Morrison et al. 98-43 FOREIGN PATENTS 843,059 6/1939 France.

WILLIAM E. WAYNER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 23 ,117 

